[Tam]

I am hoping someone may be able to help me with this - one of our ewes (Wiltshire horn) had twins Sunday morning, unfortunately they both died. She was the first of ten to lamb - if one of the others has triplets, are we too late to try and foster one on to the ewe who lost her lambs? (It is nearly 48 hours now, and not sure when the next will lamb... Or if they will have more than two (although we had a set of quads last year!))


Any advise appreciated


Tam

[Remy]

I think it depends on how long you are prepared to persevere - and even then it's not guaranteed, the longer it goes the less likely I think.  I've never been successful even with newly born lambs!     I had a ewe last year who had twins born dead, she was pining for them so I bought two cade lambs in after a couple of days to try and foster them onto her as she had loads of milk, but despite trying for a week she would not allow them to suckle.


I'm sure others have done it though and can give you their experience!

[Tam]

Thanks for the advise, I think you are right, the longer it goes on the harder it would be and it's all if's and but's too, just feel sorry for her having nothing to look after and she has loads of milk.
Tam

[shep53]

Don't forget that unless you milk her out a least twice a day the pressure will cause her to dry off quickly, 3 days is about the limit for putting a lamb on

[Sbom]

It also depends on the nature of the ewe, some take to lambs without much persuasion, others will not have them at any price!

[sabrina]

I only managed to get a ewe to take a foster lamb once after losing her own 2 days before but she was a first class mum and would have fed any baby.

[SallyintNorth]

I've done it up to a week after - the milk came back to the ewe.  It was an extraordinary year and I wouldn't normally attempt it after more than about 48 hours, but that year we did several at 3, 4 and 5 days and most of them worked.  These were moorland Swales.

I have only ever tried to foster a single on, no matter how many she lambed. 

I think you'd do it no bother in an adpoter, or quite probably get it to work in a small pen - generally when they are bereaved, they are desperate to have a lamb to raise and will accept a foster without too much argument.  Less so when it's their first time lambing, mind.

[Tam]

Thanks to all of you, this is really useful stuff to hear

[Azzdodd]

Have you get the dead lambs? Could always try getting a Cade now & skinning dead ones i did my first foster this year a ewe had a single an I thought try give her another got a Cade put her in a pen covered lambs back in treacle and she licked it clean an now looks after twins :-)

[Marches Farmer]

Wipe off the lamb thoroughly so it doesn't smell of another ewe.  I try to milk off as often as possible and have kept a ewe in milk for a week by doing this 4 or 5 times a day - strip her out each time.  We've made our own adopters that allow the lamb to go under the ewe's nose - once her own milk goes through it she generally accepts it.

[Tam]

Yes, still got dead lambs just in case - as it turns out, the neighbouring shepherd has got an orphan lamb......

[Azzdodd]

Get that lamb an give it a go! It will go one of 2 ways